In Her Footsteps
by Tiny Wolverine
Summary: A youth flees his pursuer, walking along the same path as his heroine. Drabble-y. A little LightningxHope. Rated in case.


**In Her Footsteps  
**_by Dawn

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The youth moved forwards silently, his smoky gray eyes constantly looking around him. _Survive. _That was his life now. _All I have to do is survive. Just like her._

His hand came to rest on his gunblade when he heard a sound behind him. He almost glanced around, but then decided to rely on his other senses more. _Nora. The wildcat. I am my mother now. _

Stealth came easily to him nowadays. He walked as calmly as he could along the wall, and then slipped into the crowd, where he merged easily within the bustling people out to haggle for prices and to get food and everything else they needed for their everyday lives. _Ours were different. We fought to survive. I fight alone, now._

His pursuer had lost him he was sure. He smiled to himself, a brief twitch of his lips to reveal his self pride.

He pressed deeper into the throng of people, looking around.

A flash of color. Red.

The pursuer was there.

Instead of immediately changing direction, or crying out, Hope Estheim merely turned left, calm as he could get, into a small flower shop, as though that had been where he had wanted to go in the first place. He felt the gaze of his pursuer on his back, but refused to turn around.

He blamed his prominent silver hair – at such a young age, his hair would be a standout in any crowd. But that didn't matter, she had said. If you acted like you belonged, no one would suspect you.

He attempted, and believed that he succeeded.

The woman in the shop smiled at him.

"May I help you?" she asked politely.

Hope smiled briefly at her, flashing his dimples, and then said in a quiet voice, "Could you get me a single Averia?" They were her favourite flowers. The woman nodded.

"If you would wait a moment."

The nineteen-year-old nodded, and stepped behind a tall shelf holding a vast amount of vases. They were fortunately facing away from the door.

"_When I was younger... and fantasized, like any other girl, of my wedding... I dreamed of having a silk dress, and a posy of Averias in my hands. But then it all changed, and I knew that marriage would never be an option for me."_

The woman came back holding a single flower in her hands, and set to work trimming away the bottom leaves and neatening the flower itself.

"What colour would you like the ribbon to be, sir?"

"White, if you don't mind," Hope replied, knowing that she'd hear his quiet voice over the silence in the shop. He studied a vase before him. The pattern was beautiful, unique, and had a subtle, mysterious gleam.

The shopkeeper nodded again, and quickly tied a neat ribbon around the stalk. At the bottom went a small plastic holding a wet cotton wool against the stalk so the flower wouldn't wilt so fast.

"That would be fifteen gil, sir." Hope gave her twenty, and left out back, tucking the flower away in his small hip-pack.

The pursuer was tracking him again. Hope acted natural, but his eyes flickered all around, attempting to pinpoint the person, but failing.

_Shit._

The point of cold steel was pressed against his neck. Hope heaved a sigh, and slowly raised his hands, all the while with his eyes flickering everywhere, searching for some means of escape should he fight off his pursuer.

"It's no use, Hope. You walked right into a dead end."

Hope sighed. "I tried, didn't I?"

His pursuer laughed softly, surprisingly feminine for one so tough. "Yeah. You did pretty well, considering." There was the soft sound of metal on metal, and then metal sliding along leather. "Good job. I didn't expect you to last when I found you in the crowds."

Hope turned around to face his mentor, and grinned at her. "Yeah, well... I learned from the best, didn't I?"

Lightning gave him a reluctant half-smile, and turned away, resting one hand on her hip. "Let's go back. You passed."

The youth let out a whoop, causing the pink-haired warrior to roll her eyes.

"Oh! I almost forgot-," Hope dug around in his pack and pulled out the flower. "I was going to use this to bribe you if I didn't pass," he laughed, holding it out to her. Lightning turned around and her face softened with surprise and gratitude as her slender fingers plucked the flower from his hand.

"It's beautiful... Thank you." Lightning gave him a slightly more genuine smile, tucking the flower away.

"Like you. I debated on getting a rose – beautiful and deadly – but then remembered... when you told me..." he trailed off. Lightning smiled again, and sighed.

"Let's go."

"Lightning-." Hope grabbed her arm as she started to walk away. She tensed. "Are you all right?" he asked almost shyly, looking up at his mentor and heroine. "You look... sad."

Lightning's face hardened.

"If you were smart, you would not ask me that ever again," she said coldly. He flinched, and ducked his head.

Surprisingly gently fingers touched his cheek. He glanced up again, and was surprised to see Lightning's face directly in front of his – slightly below, to be honest.

"But... it's nothing I can't handle. Thank you for asking." She smiled, once, and turned away. "It's something I have to do alone," she added softly as she walked away from him.

Hope was left alone in the alley, confusion and worry on his face.

_Alone. She was always alone._

_Just like that flower. It's alone now. _

_Will she ever let me in? Or will I always be following in her footsteps, never beside?_

_--_

Lightning reached into her leg-pack to find something to keep her going for the night. She wasn't hungry, but needed to eat. Her fingers found the flower Hope had given her, and thoughtfully, she pulled it out to examine it.

'_It's beautiful.'_

'_Like you.'_

His words meant the world to her... even if he didn't know it. _You _are_ my world, Hope. You and Serah. I have nothing left... If I lose the both of you, I'm gone. _

_So I leave now, before I become on Cie'th in my mind._

_Don't follow my footsteps, Hope. My life is not worth living._

_Goodbye.

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**Um, so yeah. Angsty. I was inspired by a picture on deviantart (LINK: **http(COLON)(SLASHS)(SLASH)yahiko-chan(DOT)deviantart(DOT)com/art/RK-I-ll-Follow-Your-Lead-126777356)** It's a really nice picture, and then I was thinking... Hope looks up to Lightning, right? So it all came to this.**

**Which has a really angsty ending.**

**But oh well.**

**I was originally going to make Lightning die, but then decided that I liked her too much to kill her off during game. **

**And I'm going to bed now before I die.**

**^_^ Night all! Reviews are loved. **

**Playlist:**

Battlefield – _Jordin Sparks  
_Over the Clouds – _Alan (God Eater OST)  
_Pieces – _Sum 41  
_In Pieces – _Linkin Park  
_The Walk – _Imogen Heap  
_Unbreakable – _Fireflight _


End file.
